The Stormy Weight of It
The wind whips around my body as I bend down to the strawberry patch. Within only a moment, the garden darkens. I look up, amazed at the contrast of light blue to dark grey. It’s happening so quickly; the clouds roll over upon one another, swirling, dipping down, racing. I love it. The whole atmosphere […]
One Thing Ends and Another Begins
It’s the last walk to school! I tell the parents, “It’s the end! It’s really the end!” One father says, “Or the beginning.” It is the beginning. We pick honeysuckle and let summer drip onto our tongue. Picking Honeysuckle We walk under trees in full bloom. We climb the hill through the woods for the […]
Learning from the Best
Today I have lunch with a dear friend who truly knows how to have a great family. I couldn’t wait to talk to her and learn from her. Some families–like hers–truly delight in being together. They love to play games, read books aloud, make crafts, complete puzzles, and just be together. I’m always out in […]
She Taught Me How to Love My Neighbor
When I moved to this town and showed up to retrieve my oldest daughter from kindergarten, a woman came to find me. She introduced herself, welcomed me to the neighborhood, provided her phone number, and immediately invited me over to her home for an after school snack to meet her children. I went. I had […]
“The Moment I Picked Up My Pen, I Declared War on the Darkness.” Katye Riselli
I find myself reading Ever Bitter Thing is Sweet whenever I can. Today, I read the entry, and I want to hug this woman, read her journal, and celebrate her life with her. She endured great pain, and she wrote in her journal on the day her fiance was killed that, “the moment I picked […]
“We Teach What We Most Need to Learn”: What I Most Need
As I write the summer devotions for my daughters, I’m reminded every moment of Parker Palmer’s great words, “We teach what we most need to learn.” When I get to the devotion that asks the question, “What does it really mean to love someone?” I find myself teaching my own heart the truth all over […]
Oh, How Quickly We Forget: A Confession
I’m rolling my eyes as I look out to the garden. I have to harvest the berries again. It takes so long. I get so dirty. Then I have to store them. Lord, why do we have all these berries? Can you believe how quickly I can forget my longing for a berry garden? Can […]
Make Yourself that Somebody Part Two: Maybe I Should Write It Myself (A Summer Devotional Book for Kids!)
Last night, I’m searching two different stores for little summer devotional books for my children. I want to take seriously my role in helping them develop spiritually. I spend so much time fostering their social, intellectual, and physical development, but I don’t often know what to do with their spiritual growth. I end up blaming […]
Forget Not His Benefits
This morning, after I find myself elbow deep in a strawberry patch, I spend some time reading Psalm 103. No matter how many times I read this Psalm, I’m struck by the simplicity, truth, and joy of it. Other than Psalm 16, I can claim Psalm 103 as a favorite. Just the first five verses […]
Fresh From the Nest
On the walk home from dropping the children off at school, the neighbors and I see a baby robin leave the nest. He stands there ready to start really living. Baby Robin, Fresh from the Nest He tries his wings out, and the neighbors lean in and begin cheering for him. “You can do it! […]